12 expert tips on how to overcome distraction

Distraction can be a big enemy of your productivity at work, school, business, and at home also, so how to overcome distraction is very challenging because our minds easily get distracted, and it is very challenging to make them focus on one task, but it is not impossible.

You can control your mind and overcome distraction. Here are the ways in which you can overcome your distraction you cannot overcome distraction in one day because it has become part of our lives, so it will take time, so we will discuss some tips on how you can overcome distraction.

1.) Keep electronics out of reach to overcome distraction.

One of the main causes of distraction nowadays is the smartphone. If you open your phone thinking that you will use it just for five minutes, but how one hour will pass, you don’t know, and you will feel guilty after that.

So, if you are a student or a working person, you can keep your phone away from yourself when you are doing your work. You can put your phone in another room or you can put it in a drawer.

And if you are using a phone or computer for your work, you can put your phone on do not disturb (DND) mode and uninstall all the apps that distract you.

For example, if you are addicted to using Instagram, uninstall the Instagram app. If you still use it, you can open it in the browser by entering your ID and password. If you use a browser, you are less likely to open those apps frequently because it will take effort to enter your ID and password.

2.) Turn off all notifications to overcome distraction.

Seeing your phone light up and hearing the notification sound lets you check your phone frequently without wasting 15–30 minutes. So it is better to turn off all the notifications because when you do not hear them, you will not frequently open your phone.

Don’t even touch your phone frequently for no reason. Touch your phone when you need it, like when you want to receive a call or search for something. Touching your phone frequently can also cause you to use it inadvertently and waste time.

And while using your computer, don’t keep an extra tab open in the background because that can also be distracting.

3.) Keep your workspace and desk clean to overcome distraction.

Keep your desk clean Don’t keep unwanted things at your desk. Keep those things only at the desk that is required. If you keep things like a Rubik’s cube or any other game or a book, there is a high chance that between your work and play you will take that thing and you will waste your time on that thing.

So keep your work area and desk neat and clean. Try to keep it simple so that you won’t get distracted easily, and it will help you increase your productivity.

You can also try changing your study or working place, which can help you improve productivity.

4.) Write a to-do list.

Making a to-do list will keep you busy and less distracted from your goal. Try to make a to-do list in the morning or before going to bed. Write down all the things you want to complete the next day and sort them by priority. Which work is most important to you? Put that in the first place, then second most important, and so on. Don’t write down a number of tasks that you cannot complete.

So the to-do list is very helpful to keep you from being distracted because now you have some tasks to complete, so you will focus on completing your tasks.

If you get distracted, refer to your to-do list and get back to work.

5.) Stick to the time to overcome distraction.

If you easily get distracted while doing your work, then schedule your time for each task. Fix a block of time in which you have to finish your work. If you fix the time block and work, then there is less possibility of wasting your time.

If you assign your work to the block and then do your work, you will realize how much you have accomplished in that amount of time. If you do not allow for some contingency time in your schedule for unexpected work, your work will be disrupted, so try to leave some extra time.

You can also try to break up big tasks into small pieces. For example, if you want to finish your syllabus today, you can break tasks into chapters and each chapter into topics, giving yourself a fixed time to complete that particular topic. That’s how you will be able to finish the whole syllabus.

6.) schedule a break to overcome distraction.

If you think working six hours straight will be more productive, then you are wrong because our brains cannot concentrate on one thing for more than 30 minutes. If you make a schedule that you will continuously work for 6 hours, then that is not possible.

You will hardly work 3 hours with focus, and the rest of the time you will think here and there and do some other unnecessary work. So, instead of planning to work for six straight hours, try to work in small blocks of time, such as one hour of work followed by 10–15 minutes of rest.

And instead of getting distracted throughout the day, schedule a time to use social media and relax. At that time, you just do whatever you like to do, either playing video games, reading books, using social media, going for a walk, etc., so you will not feel distracted during your work.

7.) Track your daily activities to overcome distraction.

If you are doing your best but still can’t determine where all your time is going, then you can track your activities throughout the day. You can follow this method to track your activities. First, take a blank piece of paper and write down each hour of the day.

Then, from the next day, fill in each hour with what you did at that hour. At the end of the day, you will see where your time is going. If you notice any activity that is wasting your time, be cautious the next day and try not to repeat the same mistake. Follow this for at least one week and you will be able to find out all your unwanted activities and then improve yourself.

So when you follow this method, you will automatically try not to waste time because you know that you have to write it down. I highly recommend you follow this method if you really want to make your day productive.

Setting a deadline is also an effective way to stop yourself from getting distracted because you will try to finish that work within the deadline and you will get less distracted.

For example, you can tell yourself that within one hour I have to finish that particular work, so you will try your best to finish that work, and you can also keep an award after finishing that work. For example, if you finish the work in one hour, you can reward yourself with a piece of chocolate. This will give you the motivation to finish the work and gain that reward.

8.) Adjust your schedule according to yourself to overcome distraction.

Every person is different, and so the times and environments in which they feel more energetic will be different as well. For example, some people are more productive in the early morning, while some are more productive at night, so you can choose according to yourself.

If you are more productive at night, then try to do difficult work at night, but if you feel more productive during the day, then try to do difficult work during the day.

Likewise, some people are more productive in a quiet environment, and some are comfortable in any environment, so examine yourself and choose according to your preferences. This will help you to be more productive and you will be less distracted from your goal.

9.) increase your concentration to overcome distraction.

One of the main reasons for getting distracted is a lack of concentration. If you easily get distracted, then you have a lack of concentration power and it’s time to increase your concentration power.

If you easily get distracted by the background noise, try to wear headphones while you work. You can play soft music, which will keep you away from unwanted noise and you will be able to focus on the work, or you can use noise-canceling headphones, which will keep you away from unwanted noise.

And you can improve your concentration power with exercise and meditation. Meditation is a very effective way to improve your concentration power because it helps you in many ways, such as keeping you focused on your goal and many more.

You can start with 10 minutes a day, but try to incorporate this into your daily routine if you want the benefits of meditation. You can read here how to do meditation and the types of meditation.

10.) Stop multitasking to overcome distraction.

Some people believe that multitasking increases their productivity because it allows them to do more work in less time. This is not the case. Instead, multitasking decreases your productivity because when you multitask, your brain has to switch its focus from one thing to another quickly, which your brain cannot do, so it wastes time, and the things you were doing did not give you a good result.

So stop multitasking and focus on one thing at a time, because when you focus on one thing at a time, then your brain can perform well and you will get good results from that work. However, multitasking confuses your brain, and you will abandon everything to use your phone.

11.) engage in more challenging work to overcome distraction.

If you want to overcome distraction, then try to engage in more challenging work. Doing the same work repeatedly makes you feel bored, and there is a chance you will easily get distracted if you find something interesting, like using social media or passing time with a friend.

No one likes to feel bored, and they try to do something to overcome boredom, so they easily get distracted. To avoid this situation, try to engage yourself in more challenging work. When you do challenging work, you will be less likely to get distracted because your mind will be focused on how to do that challenging work. You can ask your boss to give you a challenging task.

Or you can work on developing new skills. Or you can find a new position where there is a challenge and an opportunity to learn new skills. You will feel more engaged and you will overcome distraction.

12.) Give yourself a treat.

Everyone likes rewards, and maybe you too, so reward yourself when you commit to doing something and you do it. For example, you have committed to yourself that today I will complete that work with a deadline without getting distracted, and if you are successful in doing that, then you can reward yourself.

You can also reward yourself when you commit to yourself that you will not use social media for more than one hour today. If you are successful in doing that, then you can reward yourself. You can reward yourself with your favorite things.

If you like chocolate, you can reward yourself with chocolate. If you like ice cream, you can reward yourself with it. If you like playing games, you can play your favorite game as a reward. The reason behind giving the reward is that it will motivate you to do more work and gain more rewards, which ultimately increases your productivity.

CONCLUSION.

So, by following all the points mentioned above, you can overcome distractions and become more productive in your work. You will not be able to overcome distractions in one day; it will take time. You must work on overcoming distraction on a daily basis because our minds are very unstable and jump around.So work on yourself daily by following the points mentioned above, and one day, definitely, you will overcome distraction.

Let’s summarise the points we have discussed above.

• Keep electronics out of reach.
• Turn off all notifications.
• Keep your desk and working area clean.
• Write a to-do list.
• Stick to the time.
• schedule a break.
• Track your daily activities.
• Adjust your schedule according to yourself.
• Increase your concentration.
• Stop doing multitasking.
• engage in more challenging work.
• Reward yourself.